An AFCON 2027 travel platform by Travel Ease
Les Aigles (The Eagles)
Finalists on debut in 1972. Mali open qualifying against Cape Verde on 25 September 2026.
Road to AFCON 2027
Group K
Mali
Current status: Qualifying
The top two in the group qualify for the finals. Six matches: home and away against each opponent.
No qualifier has been played yet — the table appears here after the first matchday.
Checked 21 September 2026 against CAF’s draw and fixture list.CAF fixtures
The number that defines Mali
10
consecutive AFCON finals for Mali
Every tournament from 2008 to Morocco 2025 — and they have never lost the opening match of any of their 14 finals.
Iconic moment · 1972
Semi-final and final · Cameroon 1972
Mali drew all three group games at their first finals, then beat DR Congo 4–3 after extra time in the semi-final with Fantamady Keïta’s goal in the 92nd minute. In the final in Yaoundé, Congo scored three times in six second-half minutes to win 3–2.
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The team now
Forward · Paris FC
Mali’s top scorer at AFCON 2025 with three goals, including the penalty that brought them level against Tunisia; his six finals goals put him third on Mali’s all-time list.
Goalkeeper · Young Africans
Saved two penalties in the AFCON 2025 shoot-out win over Tunisia, after making five saves in the match itself.
Forward · Fenerbahçe
Mali’s top scorer in AFCON 2025 qualifying with three goals, and a scorer in both World Cup qualifying wins over Comoros.
From the squad named on 10 September 2026 for Cape Verde (25 Sep) and Liberia (29 Sep) in qualifying, and a friendly with Tunisia in Sfax (3 Oct). Clubs as at that announcement.
AFCON 2027 packages
Follow the Les Aigles to East Africa. Each trip works from any host country, so it holds whichever group Mali land in.
Fan5 nightsAny host country
A short trip built around a single fixture
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Supporter8 nightsAny host country
Two fixtures, one trip
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Supporter14 nightsAny host country
Travel with your side through the rounds
Match ticket not included · assistance on request
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Costed for your departure city
Flights, hotels and match-day transport are quoted for your departure city — airlines and hotels have not released AFCON-period rates, so we price your exact trip rather than publish a guess.
Host countries
Explore the three host nations while we wait for Mali’s official finals journey to be determined.
Safari country and East Africa’s busiest gateway
Kenya combines the region’s most connected international airport with the Maasai Mara and the Kenyan coast, making it the natural base for supporters who want football and safari in one trip.
Plan my tripZanzibar, Serengeti and the Indian Ocean
Tanzania offers the strongest holiday extension of the three hosts — Zanzibar’s beaches and the northern safari circuit are both within easy reach of the mainland gateways.
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The source of the Nile and gorilla country
Uganda is the most compact of the three hosts, with Entebbe close to Kampala and adventure travel — rafting at Jinja, gorilla trekking in the southwest — within reach of a tournament trip.
Plan my tripTickets are issued only through CAF’s authorised official ticketing. Travel Ease is not a ticket seller — we help you follow official Mali ticket updates and build your journey around confirmed matches.
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SAFARI3 daysMaasai Mara
Kenya’s best-known reserve, reachable by light aircraft or road from Nairobi between match days.
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CITY1 dayNairobi
The national park on the city edge, the elephant orphanage and Karen — a full day without leaving Nairobi.
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BEACH4 daysZanzibar
The classic post-tournament wind-down: white sand, warm water and Stone Town, a short hop from Dar es Salaam.
Add to my tripThe story behind the shirt
The full story, the title years, the moments, the legends and every tournament — researched from CAF and dated where it can change.
Mali’s AFCON legacy
Mali’s first Africa Cup of Nations took them all the way to the final. In Cameroon in 1972 they drew all three group games, beat DR Congo 4–3 after extra time in the semi-final — Fantamady Keïta scoring in the 92nd minute — and lost the final in Yaoundé 3–2 to Congo, whose three goals came in a six-minute spell after half-time. More than half a century on, that is still their best finish.
After that debut Mali did not return until 1994, but they have been regulars since: fourth place in 1994, in 2002 as hosts and again in 2004, bronze in both 2012 and 2013, and ten successive finals from 2008 to 2025. Their near-misses have a character of their own — the famous 4–4 draw with hosts Angola in 2010 after trailing 4–0, and elimination in 2015 by the drawing of lots after finishing level with Guinea on every tie-breaker.
After that debut Mali did not return until 1994, but they have been regulars since: fourth place in 1994, in 2002 as hosts and again in 2004, bronze in both 2012 and 2013, and ten successive finals from 2008 to 2025. Their near-misses have a character of their own — the famous 4–4 draw with hosts Angola in 2010 after trailing 4–0, and elimination in 2015 by the drawing of lots after finishing level with Guinea on every tie-breaker.
Morocco 2025 was Mali in miniature: four draws, no win in open play, and a place in the quarter-finals. Down to ten men for most of their round-of-16 tie with Tunisia, they came back through a Lassine Sinayoko penalty and won the shoot-out 3–2 behind two Djigui Diarra saves, before Senegal edged them 1–0 in Tangier. Tom Saintfiet left in April 2026, and in June the federation appointed Anthony da Silva — his first job as a national-team head coach.
The road to East Africa runs through Group K with Cape Verde, Rwanda and Liberia, and the top two qualify. Da Silva’s first competitive match is at home to Cape Verde on 25 September 2026, followed by a trip to Liberia four days later.
1972
Runners-up on debut
Beaten 3–2 by Congo in the Yaoundé final.
1994
Back, and fourth
Semi-finalists on their return after 22 years.
2002
Hosts
Fourth place on home soil.
2004
Fourth again
A third straight semi-final.
2010
The 4–4 in Luanda
Four goals behind the hosts, then level.
2012
Bronze
Co-hosts Gabon beaten on penalties on the way.
2013
Bronze again
Hosts South Africa beaten on penalties in the quarter-finals.
2015
Out on the drawing of lots
Level with Guinea on every tie-breaker.
2025
Quarter-finals
Through on penalties, out 1–0 to Senegal.
Iconic moments
2010
Group stage · Angola 2010, Luanda
Four goals behind against hosts Angola, Mali scored four times from the 79th minute — Seydou Keïta twice, Frédéric Kanouté and Moustapha Yatabaré — to draw 4–4. Mali still went out in the group stage.
2012
Quarter-finals · 2012 and 2013
Mali beat co-hosts Gabon 5–4 on penalties in the 2012 quarter-finals, Seydou Keïta scoring the last kick, and knocked out hosts South Africa 3–1 on penalties a year later. They finished third at both tournaments.
2026
Round of 16 · Morocco 2025, Casablanca
Woyo Coulibaly was sent off after 26 minutes and Tunisia went ahead, but Lassine Sinayoko’s penalty brought Mali level and they held on through extra time at 1–1. Djigui Diarra saved two kicks as Mali won the shoot-out 3–2.
AFCON legends
1970s
The scorer who took Mali to their only final.
Scored the 92nd-minute winner in the 4–3 semi-final against DR Congo in 1972, and was the first Malian to score four or more goals at a single AFCON.
2000s–2010s
Mali’s leading scorer at the finals and captain of the 2013 bronze-medal side.
Eight AFCON goals, two of them in the 2010 comeback against Angola, and the decisive kick in the 2012 quarter-final shoot-out against Gabon.
2000s
One of only two Malians to score four or more goals at a single finals.
Seven AFCON goals, four or more of them at Tunisia 2004, where Mali finished fourth — and the third goal of the 4–4 against Angola in 2010.
Statistics
Finals tournaments through Côte d’Ivoire 2023. Qualifiers not included.
Mali have never lost the opening match of an AFCON finals — the 1–1 draw with Zambia at Morocco 2025 kept the record intact.
In 2015 Mali went out on the drawing of lots, after three draws left them level with Guinea on every tie-breaker.
Mali hosted AFCON in 2002 and finished fourth, their second of three fourth-place finishes in a decade.
At Morocco 2025 Mali reached the quarter-finals without winning a match in open play: four draws, then a shoot-out.
Mali held the hosts at Morocco 2025: 1–1 in Rabat, their only shot on target a Sinayoko penalty.
No. Their best finish is runners-up at their first tournament in 1972, when Congo beat them 3–2 in the final. They have also finished third twice, in 2012 and 2013.
Fourteen finals tournaments, from 1972 to Morocco 2025, including every edition since 2008.
Seydou Keïta, with eight goals at the finals. Frédéric Kanouté has seven and Lassine Sinayoko six.
They reached the quarter-finals. After three group draws they beat Tunisia on penalties in the round of 16, then lost 1–0 to Senegal.
Not yet. Qualifying begins on 24 September 2026. Mali are in Group K with Cape Verde, Rwanda and Liberia; the top two qualify. They start at home to Cape Verde on 25 September, then play Liberia away on 29 September.
Anthony da Silva, appointed by the Malian federation in June 2026 after Tom Saintfiet’s departure in April.
Sources · checked 21 September 2026
Historical figures cover AFCON finals tournaments only. Qualification, squads and rankings change — each is dated where it appears.
AFCON 2027
Travel to the Africa Cup of Nations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda — arranged from anywhere in Africa and the diaspora.
Travel Ease Company is an independent travel agency. We are not an official CAF or AFCON partner, sponsor, supplier or ticketing agent, and we are not affiliated with the Confédération Africaine de Football.
Match tickets. Tickets are purchased through CAF’s official ticketing channel. Travel Ease provides ticket-purchase assistance. Tickets are not included in any package unless your written quotation specifically states otherwise.
Fixtures and venues. Fixtures, host cities and qualification are determined and published by CAF. We show them only once officially confirmed.
Entry requirements. These are set by the immigration authorities of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and depend on your passport. Always verify against an official government source.
AFCON and CAF are trademarks of their respective owners, used here only to describe the tournament our travel services relate to.
Travel Ease is an independent travel company, not affiliated with CAF. Match tickets are sold only through CAF’s official channel.
An AFCON 2027 travel platform by Travel Ease Company
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